Another Out-Of-Genre Experience and More BDSM

So, a funny thing happened on my way to the to-be-read-pile. I had downloaded a couple of freebies and, though I didn't remember anything about them, I decided to read them.  Coincidentally, yesterday's post was about BDSM erotica, they were all erotica with BDSM elements.  These stories are all different and probably polarizing so I'm not going to do my usual recommend, recommend highly or MUST READ.  I will tell you what I thought and how I felt and that's all it is about.

Then my husband and I sat down to watch A L'AVENTURE, a French movie with sub-titles.  We're going to France soon so decided it would be culturally interesting.  It wasn't.  But, it was also erotic with BDSM.  Billed as a sexual exploration it was really an info dump in the form of here's this kind of sex, oh,. tell me about it, let's watch it.  It was hard to see actors trying to emote through technical explanations of why being a submissive is the cure for many psychological illness. While we didn't watch the entire film it was becoming apparent that the main female character, Sandrine, was having some imaginary philosophical conversations with a cab driver. We both felt it was a philosophical masturbation by the writer or director. The actors were all beautiful creatures.

netflix.com

A L'AVENTURE (2009)

Realizing she's unfulfilled, Sandrine (Carole Brana) leaves both her job and her boyfriend, Fred (Jocelyn Quivrin). When she meets Greg (Arnaud Binard) -- a student of psychiatry -- he uses hypnosis to help her embark on a series of increasingly unconventional and mystical erotic experiences. Part of French filmmaker Jean-Claude Brisseau's trilogy of dramas exploring women's sexuality, the film co-stars Lise Bellynck and Estelle Galarme.  Netflix blurb

Excessica

Both books were kindle freebies

Taken

by Selena Kitt

Excessica Publishing 

paperback 138 pages, 11/14/08

Kindle 265 KB/119Pages 06/30/08

Lizzy's friendship with her older boss, Sarah, turns into something deeper and much more exciting one rainy day after work, and Lizzy finds herself drawn into a world she never knew existed. Sarah has a dominant streak, and as she leads Lizzy into the role of a submissive, the two women become closer than they ever thought possible. But while Sarah, hurt too many times, wears a ring, and tells guys she's "taken," Lizzy knows she secretly longs for a man. Determined to find one for them both to share, Lizzy is just about to give up when a dark, handsome, virile answer shows up right under her nose. Lizzy may think she and Sarah are going to seduce David--but she underestimates their handsome co-worker, and David turns the tables on them both. But will he be able to tame the untameable Sarah? Excessica Web Site (excerpt)

Selena Kitt may not be writing "literary fiction," okay, she definitely isn't writing literary fiction but what she writes is unapologetically and freely, no holds barred erotica.  It's usually pretty short so it holds interest for the expected length of time and it is titillating. 

This story is about a young girl "class valedictorian," a member of a "good" sorority, a "good" girl who is whiling away the hours over summer break at telemarketing.  Her life has little direction or ambition. She is sexually unfulfilled and her boss is going to help her with that.

A  short about sexual exploration, first love, and identity. The BDSM presented is very light and pretty much sex toys and blindfolds.

Selena is a pretty prolific author. She is also a mom, an organic gardener and is a publisher (Excessica). She must be a very busy and efficient person!

Ellora's Cave

Holding the Cards

Joey W. Hill
Taboo Line/Ellora's Cave
Plus Novel 70,000 to 99,999 words
Kindle 388 KB,  November 1, 2009
Paperback 256 pages, July 25, 2008

Disclosure: Kindle Freebie when downloaded in February

Book 1 in the Nature of Desire series.

Lauren is a successful doctor with a healthy attitude toward sex, unashamed of her proclivities as a sexual dominant. She wants love and a family, but she's beginning to believe there is no Mr. Right willing to stand by her in sickness and health...and be cuffed, stripped, and smacked with a riding crop.

Then her friend Lisette invites her to spend a long weekend on a private island. It turns out Lisette can't come with her, but Lauren opts to go anyway, with no one for company but Joshua, the island caretaker, and his visiting friend, Marcus. Though both men are beautiful, it is Joshua that catches Lauren's attention, and not just because Marcus prefers men.

Something in Josh's stormy eyes calls to her. When Marcus facilitates a game of submission and control between the three of them that will last throughout the weekend, Lauren embraces the opportunity. Josh overwhelms her with his willingness to submit to her body's desires, but her heart wants to get to the secrets behind those eyes. She is going to have to tear down his defenses and make him give her everything. And this is one Mistress who doesn't take no for an answer...
Ellora's Cave

After my post yesterday about BDSM, I was interested in seeing how another writer handles a longer story about BDSM, except this story is much more about the relationships that develop over the course of an intense weekend.  It's provocative and sexy but there's not a ton of sex.

The story is well and thoughtfully written.  A story written with sensitivity and intelligence that takes you much more down the emotional road of two people who are recovering from disastrous, but different relationships. It also tries to explain the people in the world of D/s or "The Game."   It takes place on the perfect private tropical island; an artists' retreat with only five houses.

Lauren goes there to get away with an old friend but the friend can't make it so Lauren ends up alone, for a few pages anyway.  What ensues is one of those intensely emotional experiences that bring people together in a good way (no plane crash or shipwreck) and that mostly happen in books.

I was really taken with some of the internal monologue and discussions.  One of the characters, Marcus, is a bit brash and felt kind of obnoxious.  Lauren is trying to recapture the self-confidence necessary to be a sexually dominant in the BDSM scene. It's a tough road back from a bad breakup. And, Josh is so scarred emotionally it's a wonder he can get out of bed. There's also a dying white elephant and perfect sand and surf.

It's a bit like Fantasy Island, if it really existed it would be awesome.

The BDSM is presented in a much less vicious way than some other stories.  But, as one commenter said in response to my post yesterday the scene is not a substitute for therapy.  Here one character did do therapy and fired the therapist for treating her kink like a disease.  Josh, who was truly betrayed and whose BDSM experience nearly  killed two people probably would have benefited from therapy.  It's hard to imagine that one weekend would of cathartic sex would cure him, but he might not hate himself so much. To be fair, the Dom recognizes his problem.

One thing I thought interesting is how subs can actually use emotion to dominate their Mistress or Master. In this way they are exerting another kind of dominance on the one who is supposed to be dominating and cherishing the submissive.  

HOLDING THE CARDS was an especially interesting contrast to SAFEWORD: MATTE which I looked at yesterday. 

SAFEWORD: Matte is Thoughtprovoking

www.candaceblevins.com

Safeword: Matte

Candace Blevins

KINDLE: 265 KB Est. Print Length: 93 pages

Publisher: Excessica (March 1, 2012)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Disclosure: Won in a book blog giveaway. 

Matte, pronounced mah-tay, is the word used in some forms of martial arts to stop a fight. It’s the Japanese word for stop or wait. Sam (short for Samantha) has made a hobby out of learning the various fighting disciplines, but she also happens to be a sexual submissive. What better safeword than matte?
Sam wants to find someone to submit to who she can’t beat in a fight. She’s tried to make it work with men from the scene who know nothing about fighting, but it doesn’t feel real to her – she needs someone who can truly control her. However, after dating from the fight scene and discovering not all guys like to spank their girlfriends, she’s decided to just back away from the whole dating thing for a while… until Fate decides to step in.

Warning: This title contains graphic language, consensual BDSM, bondage, and use of toys including crops, clamps, canes, and floggers.
www.candaceblevins.com

Yes, I was warned there was heavy BDSM in the book.  I had a choice to read it.  And I found the book erotic to a point.  Then I became uncomfortable.  Not because I am offended by the book, but because I just can't believe this is a healthy way to live.  I am not small minded, right-wing, religious or a fascist. I am merely a concerned woman looking at a book promoting pain and causing pain as a sexual turn on and that book is thought provoking.  This is the line of thought it provoked:

When I read BDSM I have to ask myself why?  I have absolutely no interest in participating in it at all.  But, it is very erotic and this is one of the most well written stories I have read in the genre. I would have to say I read it to understand other people more. Looking at Sam and her power in the dojo or at her job I have to wonder why submission and being in pain turns her on. In other stories I have read it goes back to a teen sexual experience, often by an authority figure. I find this troubling.  I can see there being something in submission but I worry about someone with this need. That Ethan is caring for her when he is not whipping her or they are not engaged in a fighting-to-rape scenario, doesn't assuage my worrying.  And, I worry about a man who feels the need to do this or to nearly choke her with his penis as she performs oral sex.

As the couple begins to date they discuss having children. In the house!? While he whips their mother with a stainless steel cane!?  That is even more troubling to me. I know, I know—they negotiate limits. But, if those sexual needs arise from some psychological imperative for pain and punishment, I wonder if there's any danger of that leaking out of the bedroom and into the family room.  I think you would have to rethink your sexual needs at that time. 

In this story, there are points where they come very close to permanent physical harm.  Yes it is consensual, but there are many reasons for consensus and not all of them are healthy.  And, as a society we set limits on what is consensually allowed.  If one agrees to allow near-asphyxiation to orgasm and that person dies it is not important how consensual it was, that person may be prosecuted.  I don't think I could get off with that in my mind.

And, I guess, deep down I don't think it is okay that sex should cause pain in a healthy relationship with healthy partners.  I can see a little bondage and some sub/domme behavior as living a fantasy but I can't agree that a fight-to-rape scenario will ever seem okay to me. And that a man would want to simulate it goes past the Reluctant-Housewife-and-the-TV-Repairman fantasy. For all the women who have experienced rape or domestic violence this is never going to be an okay scenario. Velvet flogger playfully used okay/ steel pipe not okay.  Fighting to rape simulation is never going to be something where I think, "Oh well, different strokes..."

Having said I don't necessarily agree with this behavior, the author does a good job with the story.  It is one of the better written pieces of BDSM erotica I have read. She got me to think about the whole scene without feeling sick. There is a little more info dumping than I like and I have a hard time believing people so calmly and technically discussing limits while meeting at a party and then going to a room to do it.

So, if this is is your groove then I say it is a good choice for a short novella.

I would be grateful if you chose to purchase your copy via my link:

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LOVER REBORN Deeply Felt & Commercially Tacky What are your thoughts about product placement in books?

Lover Reborn

Black Dagger Brotherhood Book Eleven: Tohr's Story

J.R. Ward

Published by NAL/Penguin
Publication Date: March 2012
Disclosure: Kindle Ed. Blogger Purchased

Ever since the death of his shellan, Tohrment is a heartbroken shadow of the vampire leader he once was. Brought back to the Brotherhood by a self-serving fallen angel, he fights again with ruthless vengeance- and is unprepared for a new tragedy. Seeing his beloved in dreams—trapped in a cold, desolate netherworld—he turns to the angel to save his former mate, only to despair at the path he himself must take to set her free.  As war with the lessers rages, and a new clan of vampires vies for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between an unforgettable past, and a future that he doesn’t know he can live with… but can’t seem to turn away from.
J.R. Ward

Probably the most deeply felt and meaningful of the BDB so far,   The highs and the lows of emotion, conflicts, lessons, tests, danger. If Ward has one skill in writing it's foreshadowing and multiple climax with denouements. She brings your hopes up and then dashes them down as if you're Sisyphus. She's also really, really good at setting up some of the storylines for the next book. This story gets back to the heart of the storylines: Love, sex and conflict.

It's also the longest of the books at 592 pages Hardcover and 948 KB/11Kplus locations in Kindle. On Amazon, both run just under $15. Mass-Market Paperbacks will be out in October at 576 pages from Signet at just under $8 (Amazon).

This book has a couple of storylines: 

• Quadratic Equations—not content with love triangles, Ward brings in quadrangles as well as conflicts where the third variable in the equation is an idea.
  
  • Tohr, Lassiter and No'One working out centuries of their individual and intertwined stories,  as well as
  • Quinn/Blay/Saxton/Layla and
  • John Matthew/Xhex/The Warriors and the role of women.

• Vampire Governance and the new guys in town: The Brotherhood of Bastards can seem at once honorable and like, well, bastards. And they can't decide whether they're noble or pricks or noble pricks.  And, it's clearer and clearer that the glymera is the downfall of the race.

We learn more and more about characters and others' take on less importance as their storylines recede. For example we still hear about Beth and Wrath, but Doc Jane and Vishous are more important.  Payne was virtually invisible but Manny was around stitching people up. Rhage, Zsadist and Phury were just around, but their women were not. Sometimes I feel like Ward's couples fall into pleasuring each other sexually very quickly even if they don't have full on sex.  But then this species is super sexual with supernatural orgasms. I like that Wrath is enabling a slowly-simmering women's movement.

 A continuity question occurred to me: If Butch cannot disapparate because he is only half-vampire, how is it that other half vampires like Beth, John Matthew, Rehv and Xhex can?  It's stated in the first book that Wrath is the only full blooded vampire left so it makes sense then that the rest are less than full-blooded. 

Here's what ticked me off.
This was a steep price on Kindle.  Now when Kindle lowers their price with "special offers" it means there is someway of advertising on the device as compensation for the lower price.  When you pay the full amount, no ads.

J.R.Ward has long been associated with product placement/name dropping whether compensated or uncompensated. So, while I expect to see Armani, Grey Goose, Escalade, etc... Recognizing the bulk of her readers are women in this tale we see women's cosmetics and fragrances (Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Chanel).  But it's scaled back and not too intrusive.

What we do have, and that which I find cheesy, is a live hyperlink to a website within the text of the story. It's for 1stdibs.com (see below), and it is A LIVE LINK to a REAL, COMMERCIAL WEBSITE that has no bearing on the story. It doesn't bring an artistic variable in; it's just advertising. Period. For some reason this just ticks me off.

Maybe it's that I have to disclose when a publisher loans or grants me an e-galley, book or ARC. 

Why would you place a live link in a story without compensation? Should a writer, whether compensated or not for product placement or hyperlinking, have to do the same? It constitutes a  material or perceived relationship between the company and the writer/publisher/agent. What do you think? Do you find this an issue? 


Other than that, it is the best of the entire series. It's full of heart and steamy! Highly Recommend to Must Read!

I would be thrilled and grateful if you used my link to buy the book:

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EARLY REVIEW DARK FROST by Jennifer Estep Takes Us Back to School

AMAZON.COM  CLICK HERE TO BUY OR FMI

DARK FROST

A Mythos Academy Novel

Jennifer Estep

KTEEN/Kensington
May 29, 2012
Paperback: 336 pages; Kindle: 5KB
E-ARC provided via NETGALLEY.COM. No remuneration was exchanged and, except as otherwise stated, all opinions are my own.

Book features helpful appendices and a sneak peak at Book Four, CRIMSON FROST

Seventeen-year-old Gypsy girl Gwen Frost charmed readers with her snarky, self-deprecating voice and unusual powers in TOUCH OF FROST and KISS OF FROST, the first two books to open the doors to Mythos Academy. Since then, Jennifer Estep's series has quickly gained popularity as word continues to spread about this new school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where the students are taught and trained to become protectors of humankind when they "grow up." 

In June 2012, Gwen returns with her gift of psychometry in DARK FROST, the third installment in Jennifer Esteps's Mythos Academy series.  Tough and irreverent, Gwen Frost has battled Reapers of Chaos and mythological monsters since coming to Mythos Academy, and she's almost been killed too many times to count. But when a group of Reapers attack a museum and kill several Mythos Academy students, the stakes get even higher.


The author of the Elemental Assassins urban fantasies and the Bigtime Paranormal Romance series, Jennifer Estep is an author­ity on fan­tasy lit­er­a­ture and cul­ture.  With Mythos Academy, she brings her gifts for unique world building and creating tough yet vulnerable heroines to the YA market.  Edgy, funny, fast-paced and sexy enough to have huge appeal, this series explores deeper themes of loyalty, courage and remaining true to one's self, all in the uniquely honest voice that has earned Estep fans of all ages.

"Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects-and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I'm also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me? It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can't use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me-and I'm in for the fight of my life."
Marketing Copy from NETGALLEY.COM

In the third installment in the Mythos Academy series, Jen Estep brings us a very scary place to go to school.  And, down to earth Gwen Frost is not the queen of the mean girls. Not even the queen of mean is the meanest girl anymore.  The female villain gets that honor.

Gwen is still filled with self-doubt but seems a little more confident. Good thing too; she'll need it as her challenges grow bigger and badder every day. She also needs the maturity to deal with a beau and a new pet.

Part of growing up is seeing into the dark parts of ourselves and both accepting them and learning to control them.  That's especially important when you are a. a warrior who has the ability to use her power in ways you do not know yet, and b. you have to fight kids who have been training from infancy to fight and kill.

I believe the book also pays homage to Laurell K. Hamilton and Wrath from J.R.Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood. Or, both authors borrow heavily from mythology and trope. The teens who read this  (adult situations mentioned and violence) shouldn't be familiar with either of the books referenced (seriously) but many PNR and Purban fantasy fans should recognize bits of Wrath's emotional scarring and self-loathing from DARK LOVER as well as Hamilton's vampire Asher.

I especially like Gwen's voice which is like that of a young man's: breaking into adulthood and bravery, and then back to an innocent waif on a challenge by challenge basis. Gwen is also realistic and practical.

Estep has a solid handle on mythology and there is some great carefully disguised information as well as curiosity-peaking points to be found within the pages of this riveting (up until one A.M.) and well-written story.  This would be a great choice to read with your teen! The cover image reminds me of a younger Scarlett Johansson.


PRE-ORDER via my Affiliation with Amazon:

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Timeless by Gail Carriger: The Final Steamwhistle in a Fun Series

http://gailcarriger.com/

TIMELESS

The Parasol Protectorate
Gail Carriger

Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Orbit; Original edition (March 2, 2012)
Kindle: 641 KB
Publisher: Orbit; Original edition (March 1, 2012)
Kindle Ed. Sold by: Hachette Book Group

Disclosure: Blogger Purchased

CHAPTER ONE at ORBIT 

Amazon Product Description

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire? Timeless Amazon.Com (blurb and buying link)

Into the drink and up in the air for Alexia and Conal.  Summoned by the queen of the Undead Alexia, Conal, their 2 year-old extremely precocious daughter and the usual cast of characters take to the road, leaving a skeleton staff behind.

The "God-Breaker-Plague that we first experienced in Blameless (I believe), is being investigated by the Kingair Pack, Alpha-ed by Conal's Great,...great-granddaughter. The Queen of the Alexandria hive and the most likely founder of the vampire species has summoned the Lady Maccon and their precocious little soul-sucker to Alexandria.  Having been told they must go, they set off.

Blameless (novel)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Of course, madness and mayhem ensue. Where Alexia is a Preternatural their daughter is a Metanatural. She takes on the species of whichever type of supernatural she touches. With a household of vampires raising the child for political reasons, in conjoined housing with Conal's pack, there is normally plenty of opportunity for all types of issues to arise. Many of us are familiar with a pet running off into the night, but imagine if that were your child as a wolf.

There are a few themes in this story:
Conal is an Alpha who is aging and Alpha's often go mad as they age.
Alexia, and possibly, Prudence, will die as he lives on. 
The God-Breaker Plague is expanding out from Egypt.
They are learning the limits of preternatural-effects and the effects of other elements (air, water, aether) on it.
Conal and Alexia do really love each other, their marriage is not merely convenient (Conal would harumph and say, "Convenient!? Hah!").
Not everyone wants to live forever and even vampires age.
Carrying a torch only takes you so far.

These are all lovely ideas to look at against the canvas of a steampunk Victorian London and Alexandria. I found the story hard to follow at times and was confused but what I felt were inconsistencies.  For example, when  Prudence touches a werewolf, usually the werewolf becomes human and Prudence becomes a wolf cub. However, at one point Prudence rides her father like a horse and he doesn't change.

Funny and at times heartbreaking, even these minor issues cannot repress Carriger's Bertie Wooster-esque voice. And she ends up with a neat package at the end. No stray crumbs or spills at Gail Carriger's tea party!

It is fifth and final installment in a series with a finely built and heavily ruled world and it is therefore not a great place to start the series. But, I enjoy Gail's writing so this is highly recommended.


The fifth book and a
great price on the Series Omnibus
THE PARASOL PROTECTORATE

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The Werewolf's Wife is a Mixed Howl for Me

THE WEREWOLF'S WIFE

Beautiful Creatures 

Michelle Hauf

Harlequin Nocturne, April, 1 2012

Mass Market Paperback 288 pages, available 3/20

Kindle 460 KB Amazon Digital Services

The legacy he must obey…
The child she must save…
The man who threatens to fulfill her every fantasy…
and break her heart.

Alpha wolf Ridge Addison left his wife in Las Vegas, vowing to put their one reckless night of passion behind him and return to his pack. Years later he needs a divorce so he can become pack leader. Yet he's never forgotten the sensuous witch whose life he saved...or the knee-buckling kisses he still craves.


After they parted, Abigail tried banishing Ridge from her memory. Now her heart belongs only to her son. But when the boy is kidnapped, she knows she alone can't save him. Though Abigail's body still aches for Ridge, she's willing to give him his freedom in exchange for his help. But who will shield her heart from the only man she's ever let claim her, body and soul?

Purchase The Werewolf's Wife at AMAZON!

Here the Trailer posted on Youtube

Michelle's KISS ME DEADLY was one of the first books I downloaded on Kindle.  While I liked the story I found the writing rushed and  tilted towards the expository. THE WEREWOLF'S WIFE is unevenly pitched towards telling instead of showing and again feels rushed.  I think Michelle is talented so it may be a limitation from the publisher that makes it necessary to use information dumping as a device.

Suspension of Disbelief:
Recently I pointed out that having something completely unbelievable outside the scope of the world building makes a suspension of disbelief harder. In THE WEREWOLF'S WIFE I found this in the romantic situation. I enjoy the concept of two paranormal lovers meeting up again in a crisis situation and the pacing is excellent, but the idea that a mother would be thinking of sex, much less having it, while trying to get her son back from kidnappers is just plain ridiculous.

If your kid was kidnapped or in such danger would you eat, sit casually in a restaurant and flirt, or sleep without the help of a doctor? I don't care if your a witch, a wolf or just a human when your kid is in danger that is what you think about; I just can't see having sex to take your mind off the problem.  It's the distraction that made it impossible for me to fully engage. I kept thinking, "She's eating and having orgasms while her kid is n this kind of danger?" No Way!

Ick Potential!
One thing that bugs me in the book is that the alpha wolf character has to have sex shifted or partially shifted to bond.  This had been disastrous for the character in the past. At one point he has paws and a tail and is about to get it on with another character, a human.  I LOVE animals but I don't make love with animals. Fortunately, Michelle informed me just now (3/26 evening EST) that he is a man with a wolf head and other features like talons and a tail. Whew!

Backstory:
I found the story hard to follow because of not having read the novels in between KISS ME DEADLY. I think I read something short about a wedding between a werewolf and a vampire (referred to in this story) and I know I enjoyed Monsters Don't Do Christmas in A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS. But too much was missing to really suss the author's entire constructed world of paranormals.

Voice:
Other times, I found Hauf's voice off from normal written speech patterns; almost as if English is a second language for her. It may be a Minnesota dialect issue—it is pretty minor but enough that I noticed it.

The Upshot:
If you are a reader of this series then yo will probably enjoy this. And if you like to read about two lovers rediscovering each other it's probably right up your alley.

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CURSED from a NEW INDY PUBLISHER

Cursed

Susan Abel Sullivan

World Weaver Press

March 4, 2012

46 pages

AMAZON purchase link for CURSED

These wickedly fun short stories feature witches, werewolves, limericks that can change fate, and a sinister vine bent on murder and the destruction of Alabama. Inside quirky settings with creepy plots, characters discover new powers as their worst fears manifest.

Let these stories draw you in with their lighthearted tone -- then delight you with their wickedly sly sense of humor. You’ll laugh, you’ll shudder, you’ll think twice about taking a deal from a bucktoothed woman.

Featuring four short stories, including pieces previously published in such magazines as Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Beyond Centauri, and AlienSkin, as well as a never before published short.
Amazon.com

CURSED is small collection of short stories and one short poem.  I was approached by World Weaver Press, a new indy publisher, for a review.  I  don't read much new indy, because I am so swamped with books but I was attracted to this book and publisher because with a new company, I think the covers are great and that shows me a certain amount of seriousness and professionalism in their work.So, I judged a book by its cover, OH NO!

CURSED is billed as a set of funny stories.  And, you know funny is immensely subjective.  I found the last story, 'The King's Story,' moderately funny and original. The second story, 'Kudzu,' was an interesting format that I found hard to follow. I thought perhaps that is part the fault of the digital medium. If it had been easier to follow I think it would have been amusing. it was certainly original and interesting.

I did not at all like 'Getting the Curse,' finding it glib. It actually reminded me of a short story I wrote in college; my professor told me it was clever but glib. The poem, 'Witch Place,' felt out of place; more like a greeting card than part of the anthology.

Sullivan has talent, but I felt she was rushing through her ideas—not giving them enough weight as worthy of being told.  I hope her future work addresses this.

Disclosure: Fair review solicited by publisher, but with my regular stipulations. No remuneration was exchanged and the opinions are my own.

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WIDE OPEN: A Well-Written Page Turner Gets to the Heart of Grief

WIDE OPEN

by Deborah Coates

TOR /Macmillan March 2012
Adult language and some violence.

Disclosure sent by publisher with fair review scheduled. No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions, except as noted, are my own.

Synopsis
When Sergeant Hallie Michaels comes back to South Dakota from Afghanistan on ten days' compassionate leave, her sister Dell's ghost is waiting at the airport to greet her.

The sheriff says that Dell's death was suicide, but Hallie doesn't believe it. Something happened or Dell's ghost wouldn't still be hanging around. Friends and family, mourning Dell's loss, think Hallie's letting her grief interfere with her judgment.

The one person who seems willing to listen is the deputy sheriff, Boyd Davies, who shows up everywhere and helps when he doesn't have to.

As Hallie asks more questions, she attracts new ghosts, women who disappeared without a trace. Soon, someone's trying to beat her up, burn down her father's ranch, and stop her investigation.

Hallie's going to need Boyd, her friends, and all the ghosts she can find to defeat an enemy who has an unimaginable ancient power at his command. TOR/Macmillan

Wednesday, I was fortunate to have Deb Coates, the author of WIDE OPEN, out this past month from TOR, Guest Post.   The book actually kept me up quite late as it was so suspenseful.  WIDE OPEN is paranormal thriller mystery with an uncanny sensitivity to people in grief and how they feel. Grief is a universal emotion that no one wants to exoperience. It hurts so we run, we subvert, we get angry.  I have come to realize it's an experience you can't get around; you can't pay someone else to do it for you or take it away.  The only way through grief is experiencing it.  This story contains ghosts, but primarily it is a story about the human heart, family, loss and emotion.

The first thing I noted in this well-conceived and written story was that these characters are really good at not experiencing things.  Hallie, the sister of the young woman who has died, is super-practical and uses doing to not feel. Her father is really good at avoidance; if he gets Hallie to do all the arrangements he doesn't have to admit his other daughter is dead.  I asked Deborah the extremely personal question of how she came to have such a knack for getting to the heart of grief. (The following quotes derive from my correspondence with Coates)

She replied:

I've been fortunate in that I've not lost a family member with that sort of suddenness and violence, though I have lost family members and close friends. There's a certain commonality to all grief, but the other thing that I hope works in the particular case of Hallie and her father is holding true to their characters and how they would respond to such a devastating event. 

The second thing I noticed was that the novel is a Hitchcock-type of thriller; except of course for the ghosts that plague Hallie.  I half expected Gregory Peck  or Cary Grant to leap out of one of the cornfields, or to see Hitchcock's trademark silhouette mysteriously float across a page.

I checked Coates' biography to see if she was from the South Dakota West River area. She is not, and I have not been there so I cannot attest to her geograhic or sociological accuracy but, again, the word "uncanny" seems apt. Whether she's spot on or only accurate to a degree it feels absolutely genuine, not just for place and culture but for the way a ranch runs, and has great dialogue, even when no one is speaking. She replied to my inquiry,

Well, I have visited western South Dakota as well as northwestern Nebraska.  I think that area is both remote and beautiful.  And, though this isn't direct experience, I also grew up on a farm and I have degrees in Animal Science and Agronomy.  I've been on a lot of farms and ranches and through many many small towns.  There are some things, I think, that are universal to those sorts of places, though there are also things that are particular to the high plains--that big sense of openness and emptiness for example.

In the book there is a repetitive use of  certain symbols to actuate magic—in this case very dangerous magic.  Many settlers in the northern mid-west were Scandinavian or Nordic, and while some of the symbols relied on the Native American influences in the region, others seemed Northern Europe; particularly the Sword, Hammer and Axe. Googling them I found they were prevalent in role playing games like Skyrim. I asked Deb if that's were she came up with them:

I've never played Skyrim, so didn't know that.  Interesting!  I drew them, as you guessed, from Northern European traditions.  I wanted to acknowledge the many different traditions of magic and power that come from multiple cultures so there are also lots of other symbols and signs mixed in as well.  The axe, sword and hammer are featured where they're featured in the story because it echoes Martin's [a character in the book] own cultural background, and the magic in the story does draw from that as well as other places.

In WIDE OPEN we also deal with the problems faced by members of our armed forces, really any soldiers—not just ours, as they return from war.  Hallie's particular experiences at war have been dangerous and violent.  But, somehow I feel the experience and trauma she experiences losing her sister is more traumatic and about as violent as what she experienced at war. In a war you know the enemy is the enemy, at home she has to suspect people she should be able to trust. But her military experience gives her the strength and purpose she needs to cope with her sister's death and uncover the truth of it.

This is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED book. I enjoyed it for the suspense, the strong female characters, and the sense of place (especially the eateries). It is well-written and salient, a real page turner too!

There's Still Time to Click HERE  (unless you're reading this later than March 25, 2012) and enter to win a copy of this book, but also please use this link to purchase or FMI on Wide Open via my affiliate link at AMAZON

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Sacrificial Magic by Staci Kane Would you choose love or power?

www.staciakane.net

Sacrificial Magic

by Stacia Kane
Kindle: 2575 KB
Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Del Rey/Random House Original edition (March 27, 2012)
digital sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
Contains Adult Material
Disclosure: Loaned by publisher via NetGalley. No Remuneration was received and , unless noted otherwise, all opinions are my own.

READING, WRITING, AND RAISING THE DEAD

When Chess Putnam is ordered by an infamous crime boss—who also happens to be her drug dealer—to use her powers as a witch to solve a grisly murder involving dark magic, she knows she must rise to the challenge. Adding to the intensity: Chess’s boyfriend, Terrible, doesn’t trust her, and Lex, the son of a rival crime lord, is trying to reignite the sparks between him and Chess.

Plus there’s the little matter of Chess’s real job as a ghost hunter for the Church of Real Truth, investigating reports of a haunting at a school in the heart of Downside. Someone seems to be taking a crash course in summoning the dead—and if Chess doesn’t watch her back, she may soon be joining their ranks.

As Chess is drawn into a shadowy world of twisted secrets and dark violence, it soon becomes clear that she’s not going to emerge from its depths without making the ultimate sacrifice.
www.staciakane.net

I have had the great good fortune this week to read several enjoyable books, all the while really excited to read and tell you all about this one.  After all, it's no secret that I adore Stacia's heroine Chess Putnam. She is so imperfect, she is such a survivor, she is an addict. But while she is flawed she is a heroine. And, you never know what Stacia's going to pull out of her hat and throw at her, or us.

SACRIFICAL MAGIC p. 306

What's really amazing though is how well Stacia writes Chess—how she lives in  her head and is capable of distilling the thoughts and emotions going on in that tortured space. Chess is maturing even as she makes horrendous mistakes.  She also still punishes herself. She makes assumptions, especially when she is high (most of the time) that have disastrous effects, potentially lasting. Chess has divided loyalties, trust issues, low self-esteem. I desperately want to get her her childhood back, prevent her abuse, do a intervention and get her some heavy duty therapy. She is a character I feel very viscerally.

One thing she does do right when faced with a clean, powerful, righteous good girl potential or love is that she chooses right. And, I wonder if I would be strong enough to make that choice. After all faced with easier choices (cake or apple?) we don't always choose what would be best for us. When faced with important choices (golden handcuffs or a soul affirming job) we don't always choose well. I adore how much Chess loves Terrible. I hate when she screws up--seeing everything I have ever done stupidly in a relationship.  What Chess doesn't know is that abused or not, addict or not, we are all conflicted, flawed, feel guilty abut something,  and we all make bad decisions.

I asked Stacia, via Twitter, about the world and the lingo. I am very interested in world building.  The language used by the majority of the characters in the DOWN SIDE or CHESS PUTNAM series in which SACRIFICIAL MAGIC is the fourth book, is "Downspeak" and feels rap-based with an interesting formality carried in on it. It also feels completely real and genuine. And, I was confused about place, because of the almost cockney nature of it. So I asked: are the books in a future of our world? If Yes UK or US landmass? Is the Downside lingo based on one or more street languages?

Stacia replied:

"An alternate future, yes, in our world.Set in the US, And Downspeak is wholly invented (with some archaic slang thrown in)."

The language is so complete it must have it's own dictionary and syntax guide at Stacia's desk! And, it's less obscure than the language in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.

Great action pacing with an intricate plot, amazing continuity, surprise twists and unexpected events.

My opinion is that if you enjoy Urban Fantasy and imperfect women who act heroically, who are imperfect and yet work hard and who show that addicts are not "just" their addiction but people who feel and love and wish they weren't how they are sometimes, then my opinion is that this is a MUST READ.  I don't think the book stands on its own, there is too much back-story, but the whole series, as far as I am concerned, is a MUST READ.

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A SLIGHTLY Naughty Two-Year Old BLOG! GIVEAWAY

WOW! That sounds kind of pervy without BLOG added to the end doesn't it?

So, yes, TWO YEARS AGO this week I suffered a fit of insanity and since I seemed to be online OR reading most of the time figured I should start blogging about what I read. And, well the rest is, if not history, at least My Story.

See, I've always loved to read and I took to the internet like the proverbial duck to the overused water. Plus, my mother always told me my mind was in the gutter! Hence, my blog(s) were born and because I want the freedom, as an adult speaking to other adults, to discuss adult issues we have the little warning at the front and the age limit. It's not that you're going to necessarily find something that will peel your eyelids back, it's just that this is my place so I will work my way.  And, I also look at movies, TV, and how the paranormal and supernatural works its way into our culture, maybe our lives. Sometimes, I confess,  I have an "Out of Genre Experience."

By Massimo Barbieri (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

Originally, I was fascinated by the rules of Paranormal genre fiction. Some vampires go out in the sun, some can eat solid food. Sometimes werewolves are able to change without shifting pain and sometimes that is a different kind of creature. Some witches are born and sometimes it is a matter of spells and ritual. But my interest has gotten bigger and one thing that has certainly grown is my interest in YOU. I have made great friends, and hopefully no enemies blogging! Thanks for your interest and support!

My credo: I will say what I want, when I want to say it (as long as it doesn't compromise my morality). And that makes me a slightly naughty character, doesn't it?

I don't say mean stuff, because while I may be bad I'm not usually mean.

Who is/are your favorite naughty boys and girls in genre fiction? Commenting on this post with a response to that question or any comment is an option for extra entries  in my celebration giveaway. 

My giveaway is part of the 18 and Over Book Blogger Give Away and Hop hosted by the lovely 

Bitten by Paranormal Romance & Getting Naughty Between the Stacks .  There are a 100 blogs playing along which gives you the chance to win lots of great stuff and visiting lots of other blogs easily through the list below.

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Into The Great WIDE OPEN

This week is my second bloggiversary and we'll be celebrating with two contests.  The first starts right here and now for a HARDCOVER copy of WIDE OPEN by Deborah Coates and then tomorrow we start a separate giveaway hop. Check my right sidebar FMI! To enter to win a copy of this exciting new story enter via the Rafflecopter below Deb's guest post. And, Saturday I will  review of the book

TODAY I welcome Deborah Coates, author of a new book from the high quality TOR Books. The folks at TOR do great work with editing and publicizing books. That work catches my attention so when they make me an offer it's worth my time to check it out.  There's a whole tour going on for Deb with even more opportunities to win a copy of this dynamic new book. 

WIDE OPEN

Author: Deborah Coates

(list)$24.99 / 304 pages

Release Date: March 13 from TOR

INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK/AUTHOR From TOR

When Sergeant Hallie Michaels comes back to South Dakota from Afghanistan on ten days’ compassionate leave, her sister Dell’s ghost is waiting at the airport to greet her. The sheriff says that Dell’s death was a suicide, but Hallie doesn’t believe it. The one person who seems willing to listen is the deputy sheriff, Boyd Davies, who shows up everywhere and helps when he doesn’t have to. As Hallie asks more questions, she attracts other ghosts, women who disappeared without a trace. Soon, someone’s trying to beat her up, burn down her father’s ranch, and stop her investigation. She’s going to need Boyd, her friends, and all the ghosts she can to defeat an enemy who has  an unimaginable ancient power at his command.

DEBORAH COATES lives in Ames, Iowa and works for Iowa State University.  Her short fiction has appeared in Asimov's and Strange Horizons, as well as Year's Best Fantasy 6, Best Paranormal Romance, and Best American Fantasy.

What We Reveal When We Don't Reveal Much

a Guest Post by Deborah Coates

I like to write closed-up characters, though they're often not easy to write because they're...er, closed up.

In WIDE OPEN, Boyd Davies is the new sheriff's deputy, or at least new since Hallie Michaels left for the army. She's not sure what to make of him when they first meet. Where Hallie is a straightforward, act-then-think sort of person, Boyd is quiet, deliberate and really, really neat. Hallie sees him as a guy who does everything strictly by the book, not someone to talk to about ghosts and ancient magics, definitely not someone who she can turn to for help.

I tend to be fascinated by closed-up characters, especially when it seems like there's so much more going on under the surface than the character's words and initial actions reveal. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun to write a character like Hallie, one who says just what she thinks and would rather act than talk. When Hallie's in a scene, it moves, because that's what Hallie does. She moves.

Boyd is different and different to write. The thing that makes him interesting to me and (I hope) to readers is that there's a lot going on underneath his precisely trimmed hair and starched shirt collars. He really seriously cares about what's happening in Taylor County. And it's his actions and in some ways his by-the-book straightforwardness that eventually persuades Hallie, and us, to give him a second look.

One of Hallie's first encounters with Boyd in WIDE OPEN is when he offers her a ride to the funeral home in this car:

Inside the car, the dashboard gleamed. The center console, the radio, the steering wheel, even the knobs on the defroster were completely spotless. Deputy Davies adjusted his side mirrors, which clearly didn’t need adjusting. Hallie said, “I need to go to Stephens’s, the funeral home over in West PC.”

He hesitated. “I’m sorry about your sister.”

“Yeah.” She’d forgotten that everyone knew everyone else’s business. Like the army, only with fewer tanks and mortars.

Neither of them spoke as they headed northeast out of Prairie City. Eddie was in the back, staring at Hallie’s duffel. Dell ran a ghostly finger along the back of Hallie’s neck.

“Dell’s—my sister’s death,” Hallie said abruptly, resisting the urge to swipe at the cold along her spine. She kept expecting these ghosts, these—things—to feel like old spiderwebs or the accumulated dust of a lifetime, something thin and heavy at the same time, but they were just . . . cold. “My sister,” she said again, like that couldn’t be emphasized enough. “What do you know? Where you there? After?”

He looked at her without turning his head. “That’s an ongoing investigation,” he said.

“Is it?” Hallie leaned toward him, like getting closer would make what she said more forceful. “I hear they’re calling it suicide. I hear it’s all been decided.”

He ran his thumb along the side of his nose, as if that might help him think. His bright white shirt was buttoned at the cuffs and stiff with knife-sharp creases, like he’d ironed it with a ruler. “She was your sister,” he said.

“Yeah,” Hallie said, “she was.”

“I still can’t talk about it,” he said.

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WICKED AS THEY COME One of the best books I've read this year!

WICKED AS THEY COME

A BLUD NOVEL

Delilah S. Dawson

Pocket/Simon and Schuster
Level: Adult
RELEASE: MARCH 27, 2012
DISCLOSURE: ARC sent by publisher in expectation that any review would be fair. No remuneration was received and all opinions are my own.

Have you ever heard of a Bludman? They’re rather like you and me—only more fabulous, immortal, and mostly indestructible. (They’re also very good kissers.)

Delilah S. Dawson’s darkly tempting debut drops her unsuspecting heroine into a strange faraway land for a romantic adventure that’s part paranormal, part steampunk . . . and completely irresistible. When Tish Everett forces open the ruby locket she finds at an estate sale, she has no idea that a deliciously rakish Bludman has cast a spell just for her. She wakes up in a surreal world, where Criminy Stain, the dashing proprietor of a magical traveling circus, curiously awaits. At Criminy’s electric touch, Tish glimpses a tantalizing future, but she also foresees her ultimate doom. Before she can decide whether to risk her fate with the charming daredevil, the locket disappears, and with it, her only chance to return home. Tish and Criminy battle roaring sea monsters and thundering bludmares, vengeful ghosts and crooked Coppers in a treacherous race to recover the necklace from the evil Blud-hating Magistrate. But if they succeed, will Tish forsake her fanged suitor and return to her normal life, or will she take a chance on an unpredictable but dangerous destiny with the Bludman she’s coming to love? simonandschuster.com-Wicked-as-They-Come

Oh, oh oh. There are so many things I want to say about this book. Rarely am I left in such a tizzy when I finish. So this is enthusiastic but not terribly organized. The books is well organized, and we get a well-thought out, well-constructed world with great continuity. The characters are well-developed and could play to type but don't.  The writing is also very good, well-balanced with descriptive language nicely meshing with internal monologue and dialogues.

This world's development is hampered by the conditions present in it, the division between predator and prey creating a subsistence economy with sharply divided classes and a lack of art. Technology, such as it is, is available but not advanced.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
(Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

WICKED AS THEY COME is so romantic; imagine pages and pages of dark deliciousness. It's very sexy although it takes a while to get to actual sex, when that occurs the actual sex is steamy. I would like to read more with expanded accounts.

The world of Sang where Tish is transported reminds me of the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Just the world's feel, not the story. It's that same gritty carnival darkness with less skin and a bit of blood.

I didn't really catch the techno vibe of steam-punk, more like mage-punk. In steam-punk there is a pretense of a scientific foundation to all the technology, here it's not really explained. You can assume there's science or not.

Tish goes from being a upstanding nurse to doing what she must to prevent genocide. She chooses a path that brings her freedom and love when she was escaping a relationship with a violent, controlling man. She has to go through the same struggle or darkness she predicts for her clients when telling their fortune. And part of that is discovering her own darkness, understanding the violence of it. It's heady, hot stuff.

And Criminy Stain is like Mr. Darcy mixed with Barnabas Collins, a tempting vampire magician with the body of a male stripper.

Letitia longs for love, but she needs to find herself again. Criminy longs for love and wants to find his other half in it. His love for her is unconditional, his spirit and responsibility are generous, his ingenuity amazing but not infallible. He is a gentleman thief, a rogue with honor. The humans are generally an intolerant lot. A few have honor, but most seem a nasty bunch afraid of people they don't have to fear. Tish, or Letitia is never bigoted in that way, she is bigotted against love, and hampered by loving responsibility. And, oh! The bludbunnies!

Steam-punk, Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy Fans, I call this a MUST READ and call for MORE! 

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